Fossil Hunting
Discover more about life 210 million years ago, what the West Country looked like, and the types of creatures that were living alongside the West’s very own dinosaur, the Thecodontosaurus!
Fossil Hunting in Aust & South Gloucestershire
The Severn coastline isn’t pretty in a postcard sense, but bits of the Triassic–Jurassic can be found washed out after big tides and we even see clues that Bristol was a hot desert a long time ago! We walk the mudstone and shale when the tide is well out and there is the potential to find fossils such as:
- Fossilied teeth.
- Fossilied fish bone and scales.
- Fossilied reptile bone.
- Fossilied poo! (known as coprolites).
- Fossilied shell impression.
Information for Families
Fossil hunting with your family is a fantastic, safe way to explore the outdoors together.
Check out our upcoming family safari dates and book your adventure here!
Information for Schools
We help you and your children find fossils which they can take back to school afterwards. Pack a small bag with gloves, a wrap for any finds, and a camera for recording pieces you leave in place. With a bit of luck and a careful eye, you’ll come away with a pocketable bit of prehistory.
2 hours per session: generally one class in the morning 10am – 12pm and another in the afternoon 12.30pm – 2.30pm.
Suitable for: EYFS, Key stages 1 – 4
Group sizes: 30 – 45 at any one time
Fee: £190 half day, morning or afternoon / £350 full day
School to pay coach costs separately.
Fossil questions we explore:
- How do we find fossils on the beach?
- What was life like when these fossils were living creatures?
- What stories does a cliff have to tell?